ABSTRACT
In the context of industrial material processing, the ‘positioning system’ incorporates the optical and mechanical techniques for focusing, directing and controlling a high-powered laser beam, focused to a spot, to the coordinates of a specific location [position] on a workpiece. Either the beam or the workpiece is moved to achieve this objective; both can also be moved relative to each other to provide a more compact or a more flexible system. The ‘scanning system’ comprises the optical, acousto-optical, electro-optical and opto-mechanical techniques for controlling and scanning a laser beam, focused to a spot, across a surface that is usually one-or two-dimensional, such as a bar code or a display screen. Such systems are referred to as beam delivery systems. Besides the positioning and scanning systems, the free-space and fibre optics mentioned in previous chapters are also part of beam delivery systems but predominantly their purpose is to locate the laser beam at a workstation and not at a workpiece.
